I had friends in town a few weeks ago, and we took a drive out to Hye (just past Johnson City on Hwy 290) and
Garrison Brothers Distillery. Billed as the first legal distillery in Texas, bourbon is their craft. I am not a big bourbon drinker, and I couldn't really tell you what Garrison Brothers tastes like, but it was a fun trip to check them out. A word of caution: it's presently hot out, and you will be outside almost the entire time you are there for the tour. They actually close for a couple weeks in July every year for routine maintenance and because of the heat (really? why not in August?!) so if you're planning to go, check their website first. Plus you'll probably want to
buy your tickets in advance ($10/person), especially if you're going on the weekend.
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| Named the American Micro Whisky of the Year by the 2014 Whisky Bible. |
When you arrive, there's a nice shady area under the trees and the gift store where you check in. Then your group loads up into the back of a flat-bed trailer that's hitched to a Jeep. You go up the hill, maybe half a mile to when the distillery actually lies. Did I mention it's hot? And dusty?
They get their wheat from their farmland across the road, and the corn comes from the Texas panhandle. After they are ground, mixed with barley, and allowed to ferment for a few days, the mash is put into the copper distiller. The out-product is called white dog, which is the bourbon before it's aged. This thimbleful was like tasting pure alcohol! Then it goes into oak barrels, where it's aged for a minimum of three years. Check out
their video for more info on the process.
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| The grainery |
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| The grains |
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| In the still house |
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| They've added more copper stills in the past few years. |
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| Aging in oak. |
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Bottles are hand-dipped in wax (they often need volunteers for this!) and then signed and numbered.
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| Cheers! |
